This watchdog blog, by journalist Norman Oder, offers analysis, commentary, and reportage about the $4.9 billion project to build the Barclays Center arena and 16 high-rise buildings at a crucial site in Brooklyn. Dubbed Atlantic Yards by developer Forest City Ratner in 2003, it was rebranded Pacific Park in 2014 after the Chinese government-owned Greenland Group bought a 70% stake in 15 towers. New York State still calls it Atlantic Yards. Contact: AtlanticYardsReport[at]hotmail.com

Below, I highlight several issues, including the Haier Store, the loading dock, and the parking configuration.

The Haier Store & plaza

Arena opening condition, under extended build-out, 12/10

The Haier Experience Store, "which will be part of the Barclays Center and accessible to the public from outside of the arena during event and non-event days" (according to January 2009 press release), is, for one of the first times, demarcated on a map.

There's a plaza in front of it at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and the extension of Pacific Street.

By contrast, a rendering issued via ESDC in a 12/16/10 memo (right), did not indicate that the narrow blue rectangle just east of the arena indicated the Haier Store. However, a retail store in that spot was indicated in a September 2009 presentation (first video) by arena architects, though they didn't post the graphics.

Was there ever an analysis of the Haier Store's impact on neighborhood foot traffic? I don't think so.

Arena schematic, 6/26/12 Arena Operations Presentation

The loading dock

Also note in the illustration above the location of the loading dock across the street from a residential staip. It was previously not described in any official diagram (to my knowledge), though it seems to have been indicated in a document (below right) regarding the redesigned arena that I got from the Department of City Planning.

2009 arena rendering

In the illustration up top, neither the loading dock nor the Dean Street Plaza are demarcated, perhaps subsumed into the under-construction Building 2.

Note that the Building 2 site in the illustration above looks distinctly smaller than the Building 2 site in the 12/10 rendering.

The loading dock, acknowledged arena operators and state officials, would be unique, raising potential complications, given the inability to stage trucks nearby.

The entrance to the enclosed, below-grade loading areas for the arena and Building 1 would be located on Dean Street. All security screening and loading dock activities would take place internally within this enclosed, below-grade area. This area would accommodate eight loading berths and have adequate truck maneuvering space to allow for head-in and head-out operations. There would be sufficient internal reservoir space that there would be no anticipated on-street queuing of delivery vehicles. All deliveries would be pre-scheduled.

I suspect that "no anticipated on-street queuing of delivery vehicles" also depends on a clear path on Dean Street. What if there are stalled vehicles?

As described in the FEIS, the project was anticipated to require the demolition and rebuilding of the 6th Avenue Bridge between Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Street, to allow the arena’s loading dock to extend below the bridge as well as to accommodate the LIRR’s drill track. The arena’s loading dock would now be redesigned to stay within the arena block footprint, and the LIRR drill track would be relocated partially off the arena block. Accordingly, the 6th Avenue Bridge would not need to be demolished.

Below is a clearer version of a document shown in a photo earlier this week. Note that there are pedestrian gates on both Dean and Pacific streets, entrances for cars on Dean and Pacific, and exits on both those streets, as well as Vanderbilt Avenue.

The latter, residents suggested, might lead to backups at the traffic light.

Also note that Pacific Street is supposed to be demapped for open space. Will there be an underground lane that exits at either end of Pacific Street? Or would traffic be shunted to other exits.

The Carlton Avenue Bridge, north of Pacific Street, is supposed to be open before the arena opens. If not, there would be significant pressure on other streets in the area.

A potential parking lot configuration

This is not necessarily a final blueprint, but note the impact of not demolishing the building near the northwest corner of the site and maintaining an area at the northeast corner for construction staging.